The 1979–80 season was Colchester United's 38th season in their history and third successive season in third tier of English football, the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

and the League Cup. An excellent season in the league took Colchester to their highest finish since the 1956–57 season with fifth position, having occupied the top four spots for the majority of the campaign. Colchester exited the FA Cup in round three to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, while they fell to defeat after a penalty shoot-out to First Division side

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

Season overview

With a very much unchanged squad from the previous campaign, Colchester faced First Division opposition in the League Cup second round after beating

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

over two legs in the first round. Rekindling memories of the Quarter-final tie five years prior, the U's were drawn at home to

, who won 2–0 at

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was only used for football matches and was the home ground of Colchester United before being replaced by the Colchester Community Stadium. The stadium held spectators and was ...

. However, in the away fixture at

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...

, Colchester earned a 2–0 victory to take the tie to

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

and

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

. The penalty takers were successful enough that it was necessary for the goalkeepers to take their turns. Mike Walker stepped up to take his penalty for Colchester and missed, meaning the U's bowed out 9–8. Keeping track with the league leaders for much of the season – and even being level on points with first-placed Sheffield United at one stage – Colchester had ten away wins to their name before successive defeats to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, Blackburn Rovers and

in February and March 1980. Injuries to Steve Foley and

Bobby Gough Robert George Gough (born 20 July 1949) is an English former footballer who played as a forward. In a fifteen-year professional career in the English Football League he scored 114 goals in 474 league appearances. After failing to make an impr ...

contributed to the U's downturn in form, and having occupied a top four spot for much of the season, Colchester had to be content with a fifth-place finish, six points short of the promotion places. It was the closest United had come to

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

football since the 1956–57 season, but attendances weren't reflective of on-field performance, with a league average gate of 3,818, the third-lowest in the division ahead of

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Players

Transfers

In

* Total spending: ~ £0

Out

* Total incoming: ~ £0

Match details

Third Division

Results round by round

League table

Matches

League Cup

FA Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

, - !colspan="14", ''Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season''

Goalscorers

Disciplinary record

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.

References

General

Books * Websites * *

Specific

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colchester United F.C. Season 1979-80 1979-80 English football clubs 1979–80 season